The event discussed the state of play of preparations for the implementation of the Act, as well as the support measures that the Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy will provide for enterprises, social organisations and beneficiaries of EU funds as part of its implementation.

As we celebrate the adoption of the Polish Accessibility Act, we are already approaching an even bigger challenge – the implementation of its provisions. Poland attaches great importance to the accessibility and sound implementation of the EAA. The Polish act increases public awareness of accessibility and provides a legal and organisational framework, to which the provisions implementing the EAA will be central,

aid Deputy Minister Monika Sikora.

Social inclusion, market participation and independent living for persons with disabilities are possible in an environment where commonly used products and services are more accessible. The European Accessibility Act sets the above objective for the Member States.

Availability of products and services

Up to now, public administration entities were primarily obliged to ensure accessibility. The right to accessibility shall be now given the necessary business dimension and thus accessibility will also become the norm in enterprises and the products and services they provide.

Without business involvement, accessibility will never be achieved in full and the freedom and autonomy of consumers – the millions of consumers who earn money, want to be active and use products and services regardless of their ability – will still be limited.

By opening up to accessibility, enterprises will open up to a substantial, hitherto often unnoticed consumer market: persons with disabilities, their friends and families, the elderly and all the customers, who are seeking convenience, intuitiveness.

About the Polish Accessibility Act

The provisions of the Act will become effective on 28 June 2025 and, from that date, operators should market products that meet accessibility requirements as well as offer and provide accessible services in accordance with the provisions of the said Act. The Act also provides for transition periods to bring certain types of products and services into compliance. It also gives companies the opportunity to progressively achieve accessibility required by the Act so that they are not disproportionately burdened – where the new obligations introduced by the Act are too costly or require overly large technological change, operators will be able to limit the implementation of accessibility to those requirements that do not leave them with a disproportionate burden.

The bill also takes into account the specificities of micro-enterprises and their lower capacity for accessibility financing. Therefore, micro-enterprises providing services are exempted under the Act.

The Act sets out accessibility requirements that apply to selected products and services. It regulates the obligations of business operators regarding compliance with these requirements and the system, principles and procedure for market surveillance of the correct application of the Act.

The Act is crucial to implementing projects co-financed by EU cohesion policy funds. It is crucial to the implementation of the horizontal principle of accessibility and non-discrimination for persons with disabilities in accordance with Article 9 of the general regulation on European funds and the principle of accessibility in projects financed by European funds in accordance with the “Guidelines for the implementation of equality principles in EU funds 2021-2027”.

The Act transposed the European Accessibility Act into Polish law. This is the first horizontal and multi-sectoral EU regulation in the field of accessibility, which sets common accessibility requirements in the Member States for the most basic products and services used in everyday life, such as computers, phones, tablets, ATMs, payment and self-service terminals, e-books, e-commerce, retail banking services and digital information services in passenger transport.